Friday, June 3, 2011

Threading Leaves

After all the rainy weather we've had here lately we took advantage of the clear day today and headed out to a reserve. This particular parkland is under the flight path of the planes coming in to land at the domestic airport so the girls had a ball running around, having a picnic lunch, playing on the swings and watching the planes flying low overhead.

We also had some quiet time sitting on the grass making leaf necklaces, both girls spent ages hunting around for leaves they liked and they were able to thread them easily using 'safe' plastic needles.

WE USED:

* leaves and flowers* child safe needle* embroidery thread* scissors

The leaves the girls collected from the reserve.

I tied the embroidery thread to their needles so it wouldn't come loose while they made their necklaces.

The threading was great exercise for fine motor development but I also loved watching the girls exploring the textures, shapes and colours of all of the natural things they found.

Bubble's finished necklace. I tried to get a photo of Squeak's which had a flower on it but they all came out too blurry, she's too fast for me! :-D

This is so creative. We have used tape in a similar fashion to make bracelets but I have never had them bring the sewing stuff out. So smart. And what little kid doesn't love a reason to collect things? Sharing this idea as my feature idea for the week on the outdoor play link up! Thanks for sharing.

Jamie - thanks! The needles are from a local craft shop called 'Riot Craft', they were sold in packs of 20. We use them for all sorts of things! Before we found these though I used to make needles by looping and folding the top of a pipecleaner, not sure how well it would work for leaves though.

About Me

We have two little girls in one little apartment, 'Bubble' who is five and 'Squeak' who is now three. This Blog is a collection of ideas for taking all of the little things and making big opportunities to learn and create. You don't need a big budget or a big space to learn and have fun!
It is also a place to share our ideas as we help our two girls on their learning journey with Autism.
I hope you find some helpful ideas or activities here, and feel free to leave comments or ideas of your own :-)
PLEASE message me before copying or reproducing any of the photos or text on this Blog. All ideas and images remain the intellectual property of A Little Learning For Two. Thank you :)